Catholic News
- The Catechism protects us from individualism and discord, Pope tells catechists (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Square on September 28 and told the 20,000 catechists in attendance that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is “the ‘travel guidebook’ that protects us from individualism and discord, because it attests to the faith of the entire Catholic Church.” - Pope devotes jubilee audience to St. Ambrose and intuition (CWN)
In a jubilee audience entitled “to hope is to intuit,” Pope Leo XIV reflected on the life of St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397). - Ruthenian bishop, a martyr of Communism, beatified in Ukrainie (Zhyve.tv)
Bishop Petro Oros (1917-1953), a Ruthenian bishop, was beatified in Bilki, Ukraine, on September 27. “When the Greek Catholic Church was outlawed, he remained faithful to the Successor of Peter and courageously continued to carry out his ministry clandestinely, aware of the risks,” Pope Leo said to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. “Let us invoke the intercession of this new Blessed, so that he may obtain for the dear Ukrainian people [the grace] to persevere with fortitude in faith and hope, despite the tragedy of war.” - Bishop Zanchetta released on parole (Pillar)
An Argentine court released Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta on parole, three years after his conviction on charges of sexually abusing seminarians. The prelate spent most of his prison sentence on house arrest in a monastery. After local priests accused Bishop Zanchetta of financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and the sexual abuse of seminarians, Bishop Zanchetta resigned as bishop of Orán in August 2017. In December of that year, Pope Francis appointed Zanchetta the assessor of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which manages the Holy See’s real estate and movable assets. (For more information, see the Catholic World News series, “The Zanchetta Affair.”) - Holy Land's Christian leaders decry tax threat to Armenian church property (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
The patriarchs and heads of churches in Jerusalem decried legal proceedings against the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem over the Arnona: the Jerusalem municipal property tax. Churches have traditionally not paid the tax, but government officials are keen to enforce it. Describing the tax as “exorbitant,” the Christian leaders said that they stood “united behind the Armenian Patriarchate in their call for the authorities to engage in good faith negotiations.” The Christian leaders also called upon the Israeli government to “suspend the current legal proceedings ... Only by such a course, we believe, can the rights of the Armenian Patriarchate be duly safeguarded, together with those of all other Christian communities in the Holy Land.” - Papal encouragement for Focolare movement (Focolare Movement)
Pope Leo XIV received Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, the president and co-president of the Focolare movement, on September 26. Pope Leo “was interested to hear about our work for peace, for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, for the dialogue with cultures and, especially, for communion between ecclesial movements,” said Karram. “He encouraged us to continue spreading the charism throughout the world.” The Focolare movement (Work of Mary) was founded in 1943 by the Servant of God Chiara Lubich. - Setback for prosecution in Vatican 'trial of the century' appeal (CWN)
In a severe setback for prosecutors, a Vatican appeals court has agreed to hear the appeals of defendants who were convicted in the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” but declined to take up appeals lodged by the prosecution. - Archbishop Iannone named prefect of Dicastery for Bishops (Vatican Press Office)
In his highest-ranking curial appointment to date, Pope Leo XIV today named Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O Carm, 67, as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops—the dicastery led by the future Pontiff from 2023 until the death of Pope Francis. Archbishop Iannone professed his solemn vows as a Carmelite in 1980 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1982. Pope St. John Paul II named him auxiliary bishop of Naples, Itay, in 2001; Pope Benedict XVI named him bishop of Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo (2009) and vicegerent of the Diocese of Rome (2012). Since 2018, Archbishop Iannone has led the Dicastery (formerly Pontifical Council) for Legislative Texts. Pope Leo also confirmed Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari as secretary, and Msgr. Ivan Kovač as undersecretary, of the Dicastery for Bishops; they will serve in their positions for another five years. Archbishop Montanari was appointed to his position in 2013; Msgr. Kovač, in 2023. - Date set for proclamation of St. John Henry Newman as doctor of the Church (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV announced that St. John Henry Newman will be proclaimed a doctor of the Church on November 1. “I am pleased to announce that on November 1, during the Jubilee of the World of Education, I will confer the title of Doctor of the Church on Saint John Henry Newman, who contributed decisively to the renewal of theology and to the understanding of the development of Christian doctrine,” Pope Leo said on September 28. The Holy See Press Office announced on July 31 that Newman would be proclaimed a doctor of the Church, but did not announce the day of the proclamation. - Papal prayer for victims of Typhoon Ragasa (Dicastery for Communication)
Pope Leo XIV offered prayers for the victims of Typhoon Ragasa, which left dozens dead and caused at least $100 million in damage. “In recent days, a very powerful typhoon has struck several Asian territories, in particular the Philippines, the island of Taiwan, the city of Hong Kong, the Guangdong region and Vietnam,” Pope Leo said during his Angelus address on September 28. “I assure the affected populations, especially the poorest, of my closeness and of my prayers for the victims, the missing, the many displaced families, the countless people who have suffered hardship, as well as the rescue workers and civil authorities.” “I invite everyone to put their trust in God and to show solidarity with others,” the Pope added. “May the Lord give strength and courage to overcome every adversity.” - Vatican newspaper highlights Russian incursion into Alaskan air defense zone (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))
With the headline “Tensione pericolosamente alta” [Dangerously high tensions], L’Osservatore Romano devoted the most prominent article in its September 26 edition to the incursion of Russian military aircraft into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. The newspaper also reported on a drone incursion that led to the closing of a Danish airport. Staff journalist Guglielmo Gallone noted that the incidents followed similar Russian incursions into Polish and Estonian airspace, as well as cyberattacks on four major European airports. “Lowering tensions to avoid the risk of a disastrous escalation is not just a wish,” wrote Gallone. “It is the awareness that a conflict between NATO and Russia, now increasingly plausible, would be unnecessary and unsustainable.” - Vatican foreign minister warns of AI arms race (Holy See Mission)
Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on artificial intelligence, international peace, and security, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher warned of “the emergence of a new arms race marked by the integration of AI into military systems, including space assets and missile defense systems.” “Such developments risk altering the nature of weapons and warfare, creating an unprecedented level of uncertainty, due to the possibility of miscalculation,” the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations continued. “Notably incorporating AI into nuclear command and control introduces new unknown risks that extend far beyond the already fragile and morally troubling logic of nuclear deterrence.” Archbishop Gallagher also called for an “immediate moratorium” on the development of lethal autonomous weapons (“killer robots”), as well as a treaty “to ensure that decisions over life and death remain under meaningful human control.” - Auto magnate meets with Pontiff, gives him Ferrari steering wheel (Rome Reports)
Pope Leo XIV received John Elkann, the chairman of Stellantis and Ferrari, on September 26, according to a Vatican announcement. Stellantis has over a dozen brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep, and Maserati. Elkann gave Pope Leo a mini car and a steering wheel used by race driver Charles Leclerc. - Pope Leo praises La Civiltà Cattolica, offers guidance to its staff (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV received members of the editorial staff of La Civiltà Cattolica as the influential Jesuit journal commemorates the 175th anniversary of its founding. - Intersection of science and spirituality is 'existential necessity,' Ecumenical Patriarch says in Templeton address (Ecumenical Patriarchate)
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, received the Templeton Prize in New York on September 24. In his Templeton Prize address (“Where Heaven Meets Earth: A Meditation on Faith, Science, and our Planet”), the Ecumenical Patriarch said that “through the centuries, we have witnessed a tragic alienation—religion withdrawing to its sanctuaries, science retreating to its laboratories, each suspicious of the other’s claims upon truth ... Yet this separation was never meant to be.” “Let me propose not answers but an appeal—to see the intersection of science and spirituality not as an intellectual exercise but as an existential necessity,” he concluded. “The future of our planet depends on our capacity to bring together the precision of scientific method with the perception of spiritual vision, the urgency of prophetic witness with the patience of contemplative practice.” Past winners of the Templeton Prize—originally known as the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion—include Mother Teresa, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the physicist Father Stanley Jaki, and Jonathan Sacks, the chief rabbi of the United Kingdom. - Care for creation is an expression of faith and humanity, Pope tweets (@Pontifex)
On September 25, Pope Leo XIV tweeted that “in a world where the most vulnerable are the first to suffer the devastating effects of climate change, deforestation, and pollution, care for creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity. #SeasonOfCreation” The Season of Creation, an ecumenical initiative, begins on September 1—the World Day of Prayer for Creation in the Orthodox churches (since 1989) and the Catholic Church (since 2015)—and concludes on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and Pope Francis lent their support to observance of the season, as has Pope Leo. - Romanian Cardinal Mureşan dies at 94; led Eastern Catholic church for decades (CWN)
Cardinal Lucian Mureşan, the most prominent prelate in the Eastern-rite Romanian Catholic Church from 1994 until his death, passed away on September 25 at the age of 94. - 20,000 expected at Jubilee of Catechists (Zenit)
Twenty thousand pilgrims from 115 countries are expected in Rome for the Jubilee of Catechists. The jubilee, one of the events of the 2025 jubilee year, begins on September 26 and culminates in Mass in St. Peter’s Square on September 28. - In show of unity, bishops of new, former Chinese dioceses concelebrate Mass (Fides)
In a show of unity, the bishops of the new Diocese of Zhangjiakou, the suppressed Diocese of Xuanhua, and the suppressed Diocese of Xiwanzi concelebrated Mass. “We must embrace reality with obedience, set aside prejudices, unite wholeheartedly, and work together to promote a speedy return to the ordinary pastoral life of the diocese,” said Bishop Joseph Ma Yan’en, formerly bishop of Xuanhua and now auxiliary bishop of Zhangjiakou. Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, the former bishop of Xiwanzi, also spoke at the Mass; he had disappeared in 2021 after refusing to join the government-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. - Work to ensure that every life is protected, bishop writes in Respect Life Month statement (USCCB)
Bishop Daniel Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, the chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued a statement for Respect Life Month (October). “Every day we witness the overwhelming disregard for human life: through rising rates of abortion and assisted suicide; the killing of innocent school children, even at prayer; the mistreatment of our immigrant sisters and brothers as they endure an environment of aggression; and political and ideological violence inflicted against unsuspecting victims,” he wrote. “Despite these realities, the gift of human life exists as a sign of hope to our world today, defying the powers of darkness and the culture of death,” he continued. “It is of the utmost importance that we work to ensure that every life, in every stage and circumstance, is protected in law.” - More...